If your TV is not capable of handling more than a 15.75 kHz signal, which I assume is what you mean by a "regular" TV, then you will not be able to use a progressive player. You need to upgrade your TV.
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Unless the set is what Sony calls a hi scan, it will not be able to display a 480p signal. The fact that it claims however many lines of (vertical?) resolution is irrelevant.
I used to think that getting a progressive player wouldn't hurt in cases like this; sure, you'd have to use the player in interlaced mode, wasting the deinterlacing feature that you paid for, but since the newest and best players are progressive, maybe the extra cost of the progressive player would be worth it for other features (e.g. better D/A conversion). There's a catch, however. It turns out that there is a weird ergonomic problem with using players that use the Mediamatics chip. See, for example, the description of the Malata, Apex, and JVC inhttp://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...-2-8-2001.html
Personally, I'd go with the Panasonic 31 or something similar and call it a day until you get an HD set.
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